EVERY US/UK #1 album Discussion 1970-Present

An album that almost plays like a Greatest Hits. War Pigs is my favorite as Paranoid and Iron Man have been played to death on classic rock

 

Paranoid - after their groundbreaking debut, Sabbath fine tuned some of the sludge, and turned in a somewhat sleeker sophomore album. It's epic; not a second is wasted. The band are firing on all cylinders, and it stomps forth like a musical panzer. One of my top ten records of all time.

 

The Beatles - Let It Be

I like the songs better individually rather than listening to the full album. It's a very ragged & under-rehearsed album. That gives it part of its charm, but it also shows that the band didn't care too much about it. It's got a lot of fun moments (Dig It, Maggie Mae, One After 909, For You Blue) and the band does sound like they're having a good time. I probably won't be the only one to say this and it's the least original thought about this album, but the orchestra and choir are trash. All that extra stuff sounds bad and that's before you even get into the spirit of the project. I'm one of the few folks who definitely prefers Let it Be...Naked to the original. There are quite a few classic Beatles tunes here - Two of Us, Let It Be, Long and Winding Road, & Get Back so that bumps the score up. Even though they're fun, Dig It and Maggie Mae really don't need to be here. For me, Abbey Road is the band's final statement to the world.

6/10

 

Santana - Abraxas
US: Oct 24, Nov 28-Dec 26 1970

Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
Oye Como V
Incident at Neshabur
Se Acabó
Mother's Daughter
Samba Pa Ti
Hope You're Feeling Better
El Nicoya

 

I know greater success would come well into the future, but to me this is the Santana I like best.

 

Paranoid was a favorite when I was a teenager. In fact, I played it so often that I eventually burned out on it. That being said, Paranoid is a classic album and I would recommend to anyone who'is looking to get into Sabbath.

 

After some positive reassurance on another thread, I'm going to revive this. Hopefully it will fair better this time around, especially as some huge classic albums are on the horizon



Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
UK: October 24, 1970
US peak: 55

 

Small controversial opinion, I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan. But it is cool to see they sustained a lot of success in the UK given it would be three more years before they really broke through in the states

 

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother

For a long time I didn't get this album at all. I think it's still a difficult listen, but in hearing all the different versions of the the title suite from the Early Days box I really gained an appreciation for the piece. Something feels off about the album, though. Like it's missing something. I'll give it a 6/10, but I keep listening in hopes I'll fall in love with it.

 

AHM.Even though I had been listening to Pink Floyd since 1976 I didn't discover this gem until 2014.I love it.A kinder,gentler Floyd.
Abbey Road.One of the Beatles best.
LZ II...Loved What Is and What Should Never Be and Thank You.Like most Zeppelin I ran it into the ground twenty years ago.
Deja Vu...I prefer The Couch lp but is good also.
1970 this is when almost everything coming down the pike is pure classic.I was 9 years old at the time but this is the playlist of my late 70s to late 80s music years.An absolute blast.

 

Personally I like the idea of this thread.I discovered it in the link from the top Billboard #1s which I enjoyed also until the late 70s early 80s.By this time Top 40 radio was mostly dreck for me.I was discovering all the fantastic album rock of the late 60s and 70s at the time.You got a follower in me.

 

I’m in complete agreement with your assessment, including the preference for Let It Be - Naked.

 

Led Zeppelin - III
US: October 31-November 21, 1970
UK: November 7-21, December 12, 1970
biggest streaming hit: Immigrant Song (290,825,153 on Spotify as of 5/1/2020)

 

For many years this album seemed to get an unfair shaft, despite being a transatlantic #1 hit, it sold far fewer than the rest of their 1969-1975 albums and spent less time on the charts, but I think time has been extraordinarily kind to it and the hard rock/folk hybrid on it would prove to be very influential decades later. Not my fave LZ album but definitely worthy of your time

P.S. I'm also going to add the most popular streaming track per album from here on out, especially for 30-50 year old albums its interesting to see what songs are the most popular in today's world

 

surprised Led freaking Zeppelin got no responses... I don't expect Andy Williams to light up posts for a thread, but Led Zeppelin is as big as it gets besides The Beatles

 

Led Zeppelin - III

I love this album, their best one up to this point. I approve of their decision to split up the album sides, with side 1 being more rockish and side 2 where the album gets its reputation as the "acoustic album". Favorite track on here is either Since I've Been Loving You or That's the Way. Great album, 10/10.

 

Atom Heart Mother : I've tried to get into the pre -Meddle Floyd and aside from the odd song, it just doesn't click with me.

Led Zeppelin III : Fantastic album. This is where Zep truly comes into its own. Filling an album side with acoustic songs was a bold move for a band that is credited with having laid down the groundwork for heavy metal but it worked perfectly on this record. To be fair, it's not like they hadn't done acoustic numbers before.

 

I own most of these albums, and I have to admit that 1970 was near perfect in terms of quality.

Let It Be may not be the Beatles’ best, but it’s a respectable piece. Strip the Spector production and it would have been better! You have to admit the whole orchestral sound of “Long And Winding Road” is even a bit sugary compared to Paul’s pop standards. In comparison to the solo efforts in the same year, it’s clear that Let It Be was a half baked effort...

McCartney may be the least polished of the solo debuts, but the rustic, demo-like quality of the record makes it a memorable listen. Hard to believe he made this all in the comfort of home. “Every Night” is a classic track and what a beautiful song (among his best). George and John may have delivered their masterpieces, but Paul kept things simple, laid back and effective. John’s Plastic Ono Band is incredibly hard to listen to, but this is his most personal piece. A complete and utter reflection during a time he was participating in primal therapy... where you unleashed your anger in screaming. I prefer John to Paul in 1970, but they both delivered polar opposite albums...

All Things Must Pass is the best of the bunch. George could write great songs with heart and soul behind them. A couple of my favorites is “Awaiting On You All” and “Beware Of Darkness”. I find the album to be therapeutic because it works on delivering its messages and it’s something we all can relate to. Again, I’m not terribly upset at the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound”, but would love to hear a de-Spectorized remix.

 

...two years and six weeks, to be precise. Even more impressive.

 

Here are the labels for my copy:

(Despite the two-letter code for Shelley Products, this was a Columbia Pitman pressing, folks.)

A shame they couldn't have fit "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do" (B side of the single release of "Immigrant Song") onto the LP . . .

 

Is this thread dead? It seems such a good idea (but I can see it might be hard to cover 50 years of #1's.....)

 

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Quite simply one of the finest templates Heavy Metal was given.
5/5

 

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That video is superb.

 

Led Zeppelin III
Dismissed this as a young un' to mellow for my tastes back in the late 70's
3/5
Led Zeppelin II
Like it far more than their debut.
4/5

 

Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out
Classic live album by a band who always sounded live anyways.
4/5